Extreme weather costs billions
MUNICH: Extreme weather events linked to climate change caused about $65 billion ($NZ103 billion) in total losses in the first half of this year, about half of which hit uninsured assets, according to data compiled by Munich Re.
Insured losses reached about $US34 billion, broadly in line with previous years, the German reinusurer said yesterday.
Overall damages through last year, which were also caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes, dropped from $US105 billion a year earlier.
The halfyear data for 2022 does not include the full fallout from Europe’s heatwave, which fanned drought, wildfires and water shortages.
‘‘They may all be individual events with different causes, but taken together, one thing is becoming extremely clear — the powerful influence of climate change is becoming ever more evident,’’ Munich Re chief climate scientist Ernst
Rauch said.
In Europe, extreme heat and arid conditions this summer have led to water scarcity and wildfires in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
It was difficult to put an exact figure on losses from those events as their effects, such as production losses after a lack of cooling water, took a while to emerge, Munich Re said.
Some of the worst moments of Europe’s heatwave had struck this month, and would only be captured in secondhalf data.
Floods in Australia were the costliest disaster for the finance industry in the first half, causing insured losses of $US3.7 billion so far.
Parts of Sydney had had as much rain in four days as they would normally have in eight months, Munich Re said.
The water levels of some rivers were at their highest in over 100 years.
‘‘Total losses and insured losses from floods in Australia are already higher after six months than they were in the previous record years,’’ Rauch said.
The United States accounted for almost half of overall losses in the first six months and nearly twothirds of insured losses.
A single thunderstorm front that produced tornadoes in early April destroyed assets worth more than $US3 billion. — Bloomberg News
❛ They may all be individual events with different causes, but taken together, one thing is becoming extremely clear — the powerful influence of climate change is becoming ever more evident